Canadian Law Firm Applies for Class Action Lawsuit Over FaceTime Bug

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Montréal-based law firm Lambert Avocat Inc. has applied for a class action lawsuit against Apple with the Superior Court of Québec, seeking compensation for all persons exposed to a major FaceTime privacy bug that enabled users to eavesdrop on the people they call, according to its website.


The proposed lawsuit seeks compensation for all Canadians who used FaceTime on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 12.1 or later, or a Mac running macOS Mojave 10.4.1 or later, in their possession.

This is the first pending class action lawsuit against Apple we know of in relation to the FaceTime bug. An earlier lawsuit filed by a lawyer in Houston, who claimed the bug allowed an unknown person to listen in on sworn testimony, did not seek class action according to the court document we reviewed.

Due to the serious privacy implications of the FaceTime bug, there may be more class action lawsuits to follow in the United States and elsewhere.

Widely publicized on Monday, the FaceTime bug allowed one person to call another person via FaceTime, slide up on the interface and enter their own phone number, and automatically gain access to audio from the other person's device without that person accepting the call. In some cases, even video was accessible.

We recorded a demonstration of the bug earlier this week:

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Apple disabled Group FaceTime as a temporary server-side solution, preventing the bug from working any longer, while it prepares a software update with a permanent fix that will be released "later this week."

It was later reported that Apple may have known about the bug for over a week before it made headlines, something New York government officials are investigating. Apple has yet to provide further comment about the bug beyond promising a software update, but we'll be sure to provide updates as we learn more.

Tags: lawsuit, FaceTime, FaceTime Listening Bug

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Apple Shipped 14.5M iPads in Holiday Quarter According to Strategy Analytics

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Apple shipped an estimated 14.5 million iPads in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.


Apple no longer discloses iPad, iPhone, or Mac unit sales in its earnings reports, leaving us with these estimated figures, which can vary quite significantly between research firms. With the iPhone, for example, estimated shipments have ranged from 65.9 million to 68.4 million to 71.7 million for the quarter.

Apple reported sales of 13.2 million iPads in the fourth quarter of 2017, when it was still disclosing unit sales, so the Strategy Analytics data suggests that iPad unit sales have grown nearly 10 percent on a year-over-year basis.

Strategy Analytics estimates that the iPad's average selling price was $463, an increase of just over four percent from $445 in the year-ago quarter. This sounds unsurprising, as Apple raised prices with its new iPad Pro lineup in 2018, with the cheapest model starting at $799 compared to $649 in 2017.

Apple remained the world's most popular tablet vendor, easily topping Samsung's estimated 7.5 million tablet shipments in the quarter, according to Strategy Analytics. Amazon, Huawei, and Lenovo round off the top five with an estimated 5.5 million, 4.6 million, and 2.3 million shipments respectively.


On an operating system basis, however, Android tablets from multiple brands still commanded an estimated 60 percent of the market.

Apple reported iPad revenue of $6.7 billion in the quarter, a 17 percent increase over the year-ago quarter.

Related Roundups: iPad Pro, iPad mini 5, iPad

Tag: Strategy Analytics

Buyer's Guide: 11" iPad Pro (Buy Now), iPad Mini (Don't Buy), 12.9" iPad Pro (Buy Now), iPad (Caution)

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iPhone SE Makes Third Appearance on Apple's Clearance Store at $249—Act Fast

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Apple has replenished stock of the iPhone SE on its online clearance store for the third time this month. These are brand new, unopened, and unlocked models starting at $249 in the United States. Availability dwindled very quickly in the each of the first two times the iPhone SE was added, so act fast.


Apple is offering the iPhone SE with 32GB of storage for $249 and with 128GB of storage for $299 in multiple colors. Tech specs include a 4-inch Retina display, A9 chip, Touch ID, 12-megapixel rear camera, and 3.5mm headphone jack.

Prior to being pulled, the iPhone SE was available with 32GB and 128GB of storage for $349 and $449 respectively, so Apple is offering $100 to $150 off. The device was originally released in March 2016 and was popular among fans of smaller smartphones and those who preferred the iPhone 5-like design.

(Thanks, Bob!)


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Lenovo Yoga Chromebook C630 Finally Gets A Backlit Keyboard

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Criterion Collection Launching $11/Month Streaming Service in April, Coming to tvOS and iOS

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The Criterion Collection has announced the upcoming launch of an all-new streaming service aimed at classic movie fans, called the "Criterion Channel." Launching on April 8 in the United States and Canada, Criterion Channel will include over 1,000 classic and contemporary films for $10.99/month (via Variety).

Image via The Criterion Channel/Variety
Subscribers will also be able to pay $99.99 for an annual subscription, and each tier will include a 30-day free trial. Those who sign up now will get discounted prices, including $9.99/month and $89.99/year. The company says these prices will be locked in "for as long as you stay active."

Criterion Channel will be available on the web, Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Android, Fire TV, and Roku devices. The company hasn't yet revealed specific movies that will be in the service, but confirmed that it will allow access to Criterion's entire streaming library and offer "constantly refreshed selections" of Hollywood, international, art-house, and indie movies.

The service's apps will showcase new films and content each day, including Sunday Spotlights on directors, stars, genres, and themes; Tuesday's Short + Feature; Friday Double Bill; and more. There will also be movie recommendations from filmmakers like Guillermo del Toro, Mira Nair, and Barry Jenkins offered within the app.

The new service will launch six months after AT&T and Warner Media shuttered FilmStruck, a service that was focused on classic films and was the only streaming home for the Criterion Collection. Turner and WB Digital Networks at the time said that FilmStruck remained "largely a niche service" for its entire run, leading to the decision to shut it down.

The Criterion Collection will now be exclusively available to stream on the Criterion Channel. If you're interested in signing up for the Criterion Channel to get the discounted price, you can do so now on the service's website.

Tag: Criterion

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[EXCLUSIVE] Xiaomi Mijia Sneakers 2 launching in India as Mi Sport Shoes, to be priced at Rs 2,999

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FuboTV Rolls Out Apple TV App Integration

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FuboTV this week has quietly rolled out support for the TV app on Apple TV, allowing subscribers to connect their FuboTV account with the TV app and keep track of all the shows and movies they watch within FuboTV. For those keeping track, this means that FuboTV is now the second live TV streaming service to integrate with Apple's TV app, following PlayStation Vue last October.


Users can discover FuboTV content within the TV app now, and all shows and films will be marked with an "Available on: FuboTV" tag when they're available in the streaming service. Subscribers can add these movies to their Up Next queue in the TV app, and when they begin watching them in FuboTV, the TV app will keep track of their progress.


When first opening a movie or TV show from the TV app into FuboTV, subscribers will see a splash screen asking for permission to connect FuboTV to Apple's app. Once connected, users will be able to keep track of their FuboTV content in the TV app across their Apple devices, including Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad. As of writing, Apple has not yet added FuboTV into the list of supported apps on its website.


There are nearly 90 apps supported in the TV app as of 2019, including a few live news apps, but PlayStation Vue and now FuboTV are the only over-the-top live TV streaming services available to connect to the TV app. Rival live TV streaming platforms that lack this feature include DirecTV Now, Hulu With Live TV, and YouTube TV.

Tag: FuboTV

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